The Milwaukee Post

18 • Milwaukee Post • August 2, 2013 NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY CHUCK SHEPHERD Lead story – brew nation ■ Pro-nationalism English Defence League activists seemed to be itching for a street brawl to break up a scheduled antinationalist demonstration in downtown Birmingham, England, on July 18, causing the city to mobilize more than 1,000 police — when officials arrived at a solution. Police shepherded "hundreds" of rowdy EDL operatives into the popular Bar Risa pub at 11 a.m., confining them for three hours, until the anti-EDL rally had dissipated. (Given British habits, many EDLers decided to enjoy their confinement with a brew.) As a result, police reported only sporadic street scuffling. (Bar Risa, perturbed by police pressure to host alleged "fascists," donated its profits to the Midlands Air Ambulance service.) Cultural diversity ■ Because Zimbabwe is reputedly among the world's most corrupt countries, bribery is normal and makes the news only when innovators go above and beyond. The anti-poverty organization Transparency International reported in July that one hospital in Harare had recently been imposing a $5 charge on mothers each time they screamed during childbirth (in addition to the $50 delivery fee). Furthermore, it has long been rumored that hospitals in Zimbabwe (and other countries) may detain mothers and their children at the hospital if they cannot pay the fees. (Transparency International reported several days later, after finally obtaining a meeting with a government official, that the per-scream charge will be lifted.) Latest religious messages ■ Satan was thrust into the recent Texas Legislature debate with pro-choicers shouting, "Hail, Satan!" at the right-to-life faction. However, whom Satan had endorsed was not clear. A British organization called UK Church of Satan appeared to criticize the pro-choicers (according to Twitter comments) while the New York-based Church of Satan (founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey) insists on a woman's right to choose, said its High Priest Peter Gilmore – although he acknowledged that shouting "Hail, Satan" to anti-abortion activists was "ludicrous and meaningless." ■ Megachurch bishop Ira V. Hilliard told his Sugarland, Texas, congregation (New Light Christian Center) in June that one of his two private aircraft – a helicopter valued at about $1 million – needs new blades, but rather than pay it himself, he asked parishioners to each find it in their hearts to send him $52 "favor seeds" for the blades. (His ministry also owns a $2 million Hawker jet and a $3 million hangar.) To sweeten the deal, he virtually promised that a donor's gift would be met by a "breakthrough favor" from God in the form of a car repair or their very own "dream" car either 52 days or 52 weeks later (according to a church letter described by the Christian Post). Questionable judgments ■ Sharon Jobson thought her major grieving was over at the two-year mark after her son had been killed driving into a CN Rail train at a crossing that had not then been updated with safety features. (John Jobson, 22, was speeding and failed to stop, perhaps because of a partially obscured warning sign and a nonstandard train horn.) The government subsequently ordered upgrades, and Sharon decided not to sue, but CN Rail had no such reluctance and filed in July for $500,000 against John's estate to cover damage to its tracks and the subsequent customer slowdown caused by the collision. (At press time, with grief forced upon her once again, Sharon was re-evaluating litigation.) ■ Inexplicable: (1) In May, a 24-year-old man accidentally shot a teenage boy in the leg with a high-caliber gun at a home in Santa Fe, Texas, in front of the boy's mother, whose first reaction was to look up "gunshot" on WebMD – and then not to take her son to Mainland Medical Center until seven hours later. Deborah Tagle was charged, along with the shooter, for injury to a child. (2) Carole Longhorn, 66, struck a metal object in her garden in Norfolk, England, in June, and, though it looked like a projectile-bomb, she said she decided to take it inside and wash it off in the sink before calling police (who later detonated the World War II-era munition in a controlled explosion). (Said her husband later: "You can imagine what I said to her.") News that sounds like a joke ■ In May (before Edward Snowden began releasing his previously classified document cache), the American Civil Liberties Union released its own attempts to learn some of the same information from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act. Two of the documents, totaling 69 pages, were completely "redacted" – solid black boxes covering the entirety of every page except for page numbers and document title. The redneck chronicles ■ (1) Police in York, Pa., arrested both Karen Harrelson, 48, and Gregory Stambaugh, 57, in May because they could not figure out which one started the couple's knife fight – over which contestant (Candice or Kree) deserved to win this year's "American Idol." They had apparently stabbed each other with the same knife. (2) Dewayne Eddy, 54, was charged in Yuba County, Calif., in May with beating his adult daughter with folding lawn chairs and a can of beans after discovering that a bolt was missing in the chicken coop in his yard. Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL., 33679 or by email to WeirdNews@earthlink.net. HINTS FROM HELOISE BY HELOISE It's in the shoes Dear Heloise: A reader from Hawaii advised putting keys and change into shoes at the airport X-ray Please advise your . readers not to do this. One of the basic Transportation Security Administration rules is that nothing should be placed inside, under or on top of shoes as they go through the X-ray This could either . obstruct the view or make it seem as if the shoes have been tampered with. While on the subject, please remind your readers of the other rules: ■ Do not bring liquids over 3.4 ounces into the screening queue (unless it is medicine or necessary for babies). ■ Take large electronic items out of the carry-on and place each one in a separate bin. ■ Have your ID and security document in your hand, ready to go, as you enter. ■ End phone calls prior to entering the screening process. ■ Do not stop on the other side of the Xray to reassemble your belongings. If everyone would become more familiar with the rules prior to traveling and follow these hints, the lines would move much faster. – A reader via email , Thank you for your hints! After contacting the Transportation Security Administration, an employee said that it is not against the rules to place items like keys and change in your shoes while they go through X-ray But it is recommended . that you place keys and change in a separate bin, like you stated, so that it doesn't cause anomalies on the X-ray and require you to go through extra screening. – Heloise Send a great hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000 or email to heloise@Heloise.com. Answers on Page 23

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